CHENNAI: Plan to connect waterways by building new water channels in and around Medavakkam and Pallikaranai areas to prevent flooding during heavy rain has been mooted by the Water Resources Department (WRD). A detailed project report submitted by the revenue and disaster management department to the State government is awaiting nod and sanction of funds, officials said.
Residents of Velachery, Pallikaranai, Narayanapuram, Medavakkam and surrounding areas suffer during monsoon every year due to water stagnation due to lack of proper channels. Surplus water from tanks, which flows into Pallikaranai Marshland, also floods Perumbakkam and Semmencheri areas since there is no defined water route after DLF because of rapid growth in housing colonies.
“The surplus water from Madurapakkam, Ottiyambakkam and Navalur tanks join at a point near a swamp. But because of rapid development of residential areas, drainage lines are lost, leading to water-logging in the area,” an official said. Officials have decided to connect surplus water to the swamp through open drains or concrete channels.
They have also chalked out plans to build a few new channels to divert the surplus water from Ottiyambakkam and Arasankazhani tanks. Similarly, surplus water from the Madurapakkam stream, which drains into the swamp near DLF, also lacks proper connection. To fix this, officials have decided to create three small channels for distance of 1,500 meters to carry surplus water.
Officials have started analyzing the routes from Agaramthen tanks to Perumbakkam tank for creating proper link. A senior official of WRD told TNIE that though areas such as Tsunami Nagar, Perumbakkam and Karanai were severely affected, compared to 2015, flooding was less severe in the recent downpour. Officials took immediate efforts to reduce water-logging, he said.